Sunday, 28 June 2015

My father retired out to Crete in
about 1997 and for the last few years I have paid him a visit in the summers,
having a wonderful yet usually booze-fuelled time in the sun kissed, beach
paradise that is Plakias.

Last year I thought about training
with a Greek Krav club while on holiday but the nearest one was on the mainland
in Athens.

This year I was more fortunate as
Dimitris Kontekakis recently converted from Pure Krav Maga to KMG in November
2014. His club has about 50 members, including a small kickboxing club and a
junior Krav Maga club of children. When I contacted him he was more than happy
at my suggestion that I pay him and a visit to train with them.

Plakias is fairly isolated and
about 60km from Chania so I planned out getting there the day before and also
laid off the beer in preparation for Kravving abroad. It took two buses to get
to the city and when I rolled in, the hotel was a pleasant walk from the coach
station and I checked in before phoning Dimitris to touch base. He offered to
pick me up on his motorbike about 8.30pm
and advised me to chill out with a coffee and get something to eat. When he
arrived to pick me up I think it's the first time I've had an in depth
conversation about Krav Maga, while riding through the streets of a city on the
back of a motorbike.

We got to the club to see some guys
already there, stretching and warming up. The heat was strong, which I assumed
was the reason for the late start time, and even with two ceiling fans, the
heat was something I knew I'd need to try and manage. After being introduced to
everyone I got changed and we lined up for the initial Kida. We did some group
warming up and more of the ever necessary stretching and then Dimitris formally
introduced me to everyone and said that out of respect for "our
guest" the lesson would be conducted in English, with him speaking in Greek
after for the students who didn't understand it. This was decent of him as I'd
imagined he would translate for me, not the other way round. Dimitris then said
we would be working on blocking kicks, covering most types of both kick and
defence and said he would appreciate my feedback on anything I felt like adding
to the mix.

We worked as both attackers and
defenders and despite going "light" during the drills (I had left my
shin guards at home) me and my partner banged bones a couple of times and were
hopping about, silently cursing.

I was finding the heat in the room
oppressive but as we hadn't been told to take a water break, and no one else
had asked to, I was determined not to be the first to ask. After about 30
minutes Dimitris told everyone to get a drink and I chugged about half a litre.
I then jokingly mentioned not wanting to "wimp out" and, in the
spirit of true Krav Maga common sense, he told me that I should have done as I
wasn't used to training in this heat.

We moved on to blocking stomp kicks
with arms and hands, and he used my wonky finger (from incorrectly blocking a
kick in training with an open hand last October), to warn the others of the
necessity of correct technique.

We switched to striking focus
mitts, with a group of 6 in the middle and another half dozen guys holding the
pads in a circle. You had to go full out on the pads with the guy holding them
dictating what strikes were required by changing positions.

After this we had a pressure drill
doing choke hold releases...but with the added twist of it being in the dark
with the lights off. I hadn't tried this before and it got the adrenalin flowing
to be fighting with shadows while INXS's "Suicide Blonde" was playing
loudly over the gym's stereo to further up the mood factor.

Finally we moved on to some bag
work to wind down, and then lined up for the final Kida. I was soaking wet with
sweat and so tired that I was rummaging in my backpack for the Krav Maga
Midlands T-shirt I'd brought as a gift, that it took 2 minutes before I
realised it was someone else's bag. Finally locating it I handed it to Dimitris
who grinned and said "I have one for you, but you beat me to it."

He then invited me back in 2 weeks to train again and have a meal
with him and the club.

Sunday, 21 June 2015

I have a snapped ACL (anterior
crusciate ligament) in my left knee. It broke in 2001 and I've never had it
repaired...but this year I finally will. It aches when I train in Krav and
unless I wear not one but two elasticated supports on it, it will sometimes
swell like a balloon and hurt like a bitch the next day. I can't go running
(advice of a sports masseur/ knee specialist) and flexibility on that leg is
piss poor (kicks to anywhere higher than an opponent's belly button are in the
realms of fantasy). I have always regarded this injury as debilitating and
something that has affected my ability to be fully effective in both Krav and
the rest of my life. Last week I flew to Crete for 4
weeks holiday and made doubly certain that I packed BOTH knee supports for when
I go to join Krav Maga Chania, a club on the island who have invited me to
train with them.

Today I was hanging out at the
beach with a few pals and got introduced to an Australian girl with a broken
foot. I initially believed that her foot HAD BEEN broken and now had
healed...but was probably still a bit sore.

Turns out that her foot was STILL
broken and was in the process of healing. She had come to the beach with her
pals, but as its access is via a rocky cliff face only...she had gone to the
neighbouring beach and then swum round to join her mates....who had carried her
foot brace in a bag for her. Already impressed by this I was even more inspired
when she swam back round as we were leaving, rendezvoused with us at the top of
the drive leading to both beaches, strapped on her brace and then clopped off
down the road...at a pace slightly faster than my normal "On Holiday
Stroll."

She snorted at the idea of taking a
cab from the taverna 10 minutes further down the road and after we'd stopped
there for lunch we walked back along a trail that required climbing fences,
navigating goat paths and walking through olive groves. She didn't moan or
complain once and when I asked if the brace didn't sweat a bit, she replied
that it came with a sock but she'd stopped wearing it and that it now
"chafed a bit" but didn't elaborate further.

On the final stretch of the walk
home she asked where a good bar with dancing could be found and also a decent
beach for snorkelling. She added that it should be relatively close to Plakias
but only because her foot meant she was limited in range.

Meeting her today has made me
realise that a LOT of what's holding me back is not actual injury or obstacles
but my perception of them. While I'm not so bendy on my left side any more my
main worry in training is what MIGHT happen due to the ACL being in
tatters...not the fact that it actually is.

"In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision."

Wednesday, 10 June 2015

Fast Defence UK
has been around for about 30 years. Considered by many to be the "missing
link" between self defence and martial arts training, FAST stands for
"Fear, Adrenaline and Stress Training."

Their website states "FAST
training empowers people by teaching how to manage the adrenaline release – no
matter what the perceived threat and no matter what the context – and use it to
create the most appropriate win." Most importantly it also says that
training teaches people to "avoid, defuse and, if absolutely necessary,
stop violence directed at them."

I had a taste of what this involves
in June 2014 at the Krav Maga Global World Tour with Eyal Yanilov (KMG Chief
Instructor). Me and 9 others got chosen by Master Eyal to fight what are known
as the "predators". These are aggressive, violent and ferocious
attackers who come out with verbal as well as physical assaults. The basis of
the scenarios we entered can be boiled down to this:

"One or more guys are in
your face. What are you going to do?"

Predator armour is unique in design
in that it allows full freedom of movement for the person inside the
"suit" but also allows their opponent/ victim to strike to the face,
chest and groin as hard as they can.

Adrenaline level 1 is based on one
attacker and encourages the use of "tunnel vision" to retain focus on
what is directly in front of you.

On Adrenaline 2, the game is changed
in that you have multiple predators and have to deal with varying scenarios
with between 2 and 5 attackers.

I'd been looking forward to this for
several months and arrived early at Harlow Leisurezone. I met Andras Millward,
Director of Instructor Development for FAST in the canteen. I asked him about
FAST's recent surge in popularity and he said:

"There's been a big change,
big upheaval in the FAST defence world. WE knew it worked but we weren't very
good at telling the world it worked. A LOT of new people have come on board
now. It's a lot stronger. Our relationship with Krav Maga Global is really
helping our profile as well. We're like one of the best kept secrets in the
world. Today we've got 50 to 55 students booked in. On Adrenaline 1 we had people
coming here from abroad, countries like Switzerland,
France
and Norway.
Our purpose today is to give you all more information about the adrenal release
and response and then put you back in it again."

We kicked off just after 10.30am
and Andras plus the head of Krav Maga Global UK,
Jon Bullock spoke to us about what the day had in store. Then we had a lecture
from Dr Kirsty Hunter, about the scientific aspects of the body's response to
threat. We were told about the importance of correct breathing (inhale to
belly, then chest through the nose, exhale through the mouth) and the different
reactions to fear. She also told us about FAST's "A,B,C's" which
stands for Awareness, Boundaries and Conflict Resolution (or Combatives).

Awareness means the ability to observe
and accurately interpret stimuli within our environment and then identify and
manage our own internal state. Boundaries means knowing how and when to
establish recognisable physical and/or emotional boundaries, and is considered
essential to what FAST teaches. Combatives covers situations that require
physical self-defence and provides simple and effective techniques that can be
learnt and applied successfully by all, irrespective of age or sex.

After Dr Hunter had spoken to us we
then moved into the preliminary phase of the training, the "woofing."

Woofing refers to where people are
threatening or verbally aggressive in order to test boundaries. Like a dog
barking, the expression describes how people can behave when trying to
intimidate or even attack others. We were told that body language is VERY
important for us in these scenarios. You are taught to stand with your feet
steady but NOT to assume a "fighting stance" (which comes so easily
to those who train in martial arts). You start with your hands held loosely
together below your waist and only raise them if you feel your boundaries are
threatened. Even then you are told categorically not to point or look like you
are pointing, so you keep your hands with the palms facing forwards. Language is
crucial and swearing a BIG no-no. The question "What do you want?" is
designed to make an aggressor actually think of a response involving what is
known as higher brain function as they have to consider their response. We were
encouraged to utilise the phrases "You need to leave!" and "Back
away!" or Back off!" when dealing with threatening or intimidating
behaviour.

There were two groups with a coach
and several "woofers" on designated areas of the sports hall. One at
a time we went out onto the mats and had to deal with them. The guys we were
facing wore sunglasses so you couldn't see their eyes, further upping the
adrenaline factor and their behaviour towards us ranged from mildly obnoxious
to criminally aggressive. In order to enhance the realism of the role plays,
the actors would pick up on personal traits or clothing choices. I wear
bandanas to keep my hair out of my face in training and that day was wearing a
camouflage patterned one. Sure enough, the opening line as they pounded towards
me was "You in the army or something?!!" When I replied "Sorry
mate, I can't hear you" the guy snarled and went "What you deaf as well?!! And I'm not your
f***ing mate!!!"Heart
hammering in my chest I stuck to the game plan, while coach Caroline Braxton
stood behind me observing what was going on. I shouted "BACK AWAY!!!
JUST GO!!! LEAVE!!!" and various combinations while the actors
continued to make fun of me but did back off. Anatoli Krassavine from my club Krav Maga Midlands was there and it was good to have a team mate on board.

As the others went up it was clear
that the actors wouldn't back away unless we ticked certain boxes with regard
to etiquette on our own behalf. Anyone pointing (a gesture infuriatingly easy
to make when your hands are outstretched) would have the actors yelling
indignantly at them and coming back. Anyone who walked towards them (again, an
easy mistake to make) would be perceived as "wanting some". Finally
we all went through the drills and during a short lunch break I spoke to FAST
UK Director Wayne Hubball and Caroline Braxton.

Wayne
said, "It's gone very well. Everyone seems to have picked up all the
learning points. It's great to see how people have advanced from Adrenaline
1."

Caroline is also a specialist in
Neuro Linguistic Programming and incorporating FAST into corporate business.
She said, "I think it's going really, really well. The training's
embedded in them and while you all might not remember what you did in
Adrenaline 1, it's all coming back. It's a nice recap."

After lunch Jon Bullock then took
us for what could euphemistically be called a "warm up". We worked on
trying to get our partners to the floor; punching to the body; groups of 3 with
two vs one and several variations. Jon told us on several occasions not to
"pretend" about what we were doing and to deal with our movements
realistically. This went on for about 40 minutes and was about as gruelling as
my last Krav Maga grading. Afterwards Jon stated that while we might hate him
at that moment he had done us a favour by "inoculating" us to what we
were about to do and also getting us used to being in close quarters brawling.
He also pointed out that the biggest fear we really had was not of getting hurt
but of failing, or looking foolish in front of our friends and peers.

Then it came time to meet the
predators again. The last time I faced these guys I was beyond nervous. This
time I was enthusiastic but there was no way of denying that the nerves were
jangling once more. We split into two groups of roughly 25 people, with a coach
and several predators per group. The students lined up facing each other either
side of the squares, and each line took turns. The worst part about this is the
initial phase, where you stand, usually with your back to the predators and
close your eyes. You inform the coach of any niggling injuries (in my case a
dodgy left knee) and she will signal to them which bit of your body they should
try to avoid hurting. Then the game's on.

The first time I was up, I got
violently shoved forwards and whirled to find a guy stood behind me, shouting
incoherent threats and trying to slap and push me. His mates were also marching
up and then I was retaliating. You have no chance to try and remember what
techniques you may have learned in Krav or any other discipline, you are
operating solely on instinct and muscle memory. The whole thing was a blur that
retrospectively seemed to last about 2 seconds. I remember using an elbow
strike to knock one opponent on his back and that was about it. Before I knew
it the whistle was blowing and it was all over, people clapping, and me trying
to get my breath back.

It was interesting to see how
different people handled the situations. Some of the better fighters really
made their punches and kicks count while the most aggressive fighters in these
situations appeared to be the women. After a short break for the predators to breathe,
we went up once more. The second time I had a rougher deal with one guy pinning
my arms. I was screaming a lot of abuse and dropping clusters of C-bombs while
Caroline encouraged me to yell at them. One or two of the other guys who went
up had opportunities to use verbal "persuasion" rather than just
punching, proving the point that if you are trained to handle adrenaline you
can react appropriately. Another thing that happened four or five times was
guys losing their T-shirts while grappling. The predators would take advantage
of this and try and keep it over the practitioner's face unless they managed to
wriggle free.

Our side of the room finished
before the other and we joined the remaining group to give them some
encouragement. Amusingly, the predators from our side then joined in, meaning
some guys had to fight up to five at a time.

Finally we stopped and Andras
Millward gave a closing talk followed by Jon Bullock who asked us how we felt
the day had gone and got us to give a round of applause to the "crazy
guys" who donned the Predator armour. We then got our attendance
certificates and shook Andras's hand before changing into fresh T-shirts and
anticipating a good meal and a shower.

Afterwards I spoke to Krav
practitioner Barry Macinnes.

"Thoroughly enjoyed it,
very good. Even better than the first one and it's spurred me into becoming a
FAST instructor."

I also spoke to Andras Millward who
said, "I love doing these events with KMG. You guys come in with full
commitment and honesty and it makes our job a lot easier. You really bring your
heart and soul into every fight. In the grey areas of verbal assertion you guys
are really good. A lot of you handled some very, very complex scenarios."

Jon Bullock was also very pleased
with how things had gone.

"The idea was obviously to
give them the adrenaline experience again. What we did this time was change the
dynamic. So there's pressure but there's more things to think about such as
movement, positioning, dealing with more than one person. It is likely that in
general a self defence situation would involve more than one person."

I asked him to sum up the day in
three words and he replied, "Experience, learning, and review."

A great day for everyone involved.
The predators, coaches, instructors and students all had a great time and I
cannot speak highly enough of this event. Adrenaline is just what I needed. I
am now, like Barry Macinness, looking forward to getting more involved in this
world and the future is bright.